Russia's foreign minister offers condolences to Iran following Soleimani's death

France, Germany and China call on Iran to preserve nuclear deal and not violate it

Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov called Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif and offered him his condolences on the death of Qasem Soleimani, according to a tweet sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Lavrov also discussed the latest regional and international developments with Zarif since Soleimani's death, the tweet posted today says.

According to CCN reports, France, Germany and China have called on Iran to preserve the nuclear deal and to avoid any measure that would violate it, French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a written statement today after a phone call with his counterparts.

Le Drian spoke to Germany’s Heiko Maas and China’s Wang Yi in separate phone calls on Saturday.

The French Foreign Minister said France and Germany “fully shared the central objective of de-escalation and preservation of the Vienna accord [JCPOA]”.

Read: Iran's FM Zarif Says Soleimani’s Assassination To Cause US Withdrawal From Region

Le Drian also spoke of a “great convergence” between China and France to reinforce efforts towards de-escalation. He said both countries agreed Iraq’s stability and sovereignty should be preserved and called on Iran to “avoid any measure that would violate the Vienna accord.”

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the nuclear deal, was reached in Vienna on July 14, 2015. France, Germany and China are all parties to the deal, along with Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom.

The United States announced its withdrawal on May 8, 2018 and resumed a regime of sanctions against Iran which other European parties to the deal who pledged to ensure the deal works are up till date unable to do anything practically meaningful to ease the Washington sanctions against the Tehran.


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